President Donald Trump fired more than a dozen inspectors general across the federal government apparently without giving Congress the required notice and reasons, providing an early test for a recently formed caucus aimed at protecting agency watchdogs.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, launched the bipartisan Inspector General Caucus less than two weeks ago with five other senators and the mission to “support federal watchdogs in their efforts to ensure government accountability and compliance with the law.”
On Friday, Trump fired the internal watchdogs at the departments of Defense, State, Transportation, Labor, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Energy, Commerce, Treasury and Agriculture, as well as several independent agencies, according to media reports.
